Magicracy of Alent
This article is about a faction of mages in the Third Age. For other uses, see Alent. The Magicracy of Alent is a society of mages and other gifted individuals who operate from the city of Alent in Libaterra in the Third Age. They are a misotheistic society and believe in the pursuit of knowledge by any means necessary and that mortals don't need gods to thrive. The magicracy is led by Archmage Jemuel the Wise and the Council of Mages. They are a well-advanced and rich city-state, having recently built an airship, although they lack workforce. They hope to unite Libaterra under their banner and resurrect the might of the ancient kingdom of Alent even if it means that they have to fight against everyone else. History Jemuel and his group of mages first appeared in Libaterra two years before the Cataclysm while the Great War between the Yamato Empire and the Grand Alliance was still ongoing. They prevented the war-torn nation from being destroyed in the Reactor Core Explosion by containing the explosion inside a magical shield although the city of Lutherin was destroyed in the process of containing the blast which left behind a pillar of magical light which would become known as the Beacon of Alent. The mages took over the ruined Lutherin and renamed it Alent to honour an ancient kingdom by the same name. They brought riches and knowledge with them, and their powers kept the people in the Libaterran heartlands safe from marauders, demons and other threats in the final years of the war. They eventually managed to seemingly drive the faerfolc to Western Libaterra on lands once inhabited by the Rebels, thus effectively ending the Faerfolc Rampage and allowing a peaceful enough time for the magicracy to begin rebuilding the damaged city and also expanding the mages' territory. Since the Cataclysm, Alent's power and influence have grown, and they're now the de facto power in Central Libaterra and are constantly trying to expand their territories beyond the heartlands. The recent flood of Sarquil refugees in the aftermath of the Battle of Vanna, and aggression from the Crimson Coalition and various demon hordes have forced the mages to adapt to the ever-changing political climate of Libaterra. Demographics The City of Alent :See: Alent (city) People Alent is a melting pot of various cultures from the Land of the Living as most of the people settling into the magicracy are attracted to it by the freedom to study magic, including most of the forbidden arts, and the chance to rise in the ranks through their merits alone. This is why it's not uncommon to see people from different kingdoms and different factions living side by side in the magicracy, and for many Alent is a chance to start over and leave the weight of past actions behind. After the Battle of Vanna, two ethnic groups, the Sarquil and the desert elves are now living in the Sarquil Downs slum district in Alent. They are used as a workforce by the mages in exchange for a safe living under Alent's protection. Culture Armor and Emblems The armor of the elite guard varies but often has some form of purple in it. The mage robes vary even more, hardly having any common signifier. Since most of the Alentians are individualistic people, they are not so community-driven as many other factions. The flag of Alent is an orange phoenix on a field of sable, although its similarity with Maar Sul's might eventually make Alentians change their flag. Beliefs Alentians view Jemuel and the Council of Mages as their saviours who protected Central Libaterra when no one else would. They don't particularly like the Grand Alliance because of the Alliance's involvement in the Reactor Core Explosion, but they tolerate them because they know they need all the help they can get to combat the demons and the Crimson Coalition, which has led to a treaty between the two powers to fight a common enemy. The mages of Alent in particular have forsaken all the gods whom they saw as tyrants oppressing mortals. The only god they might show a bit of respect to is Paedün, the God of Wisdom, because Alent seeks knowledge at all costs to improve itself and the lives of its citizens. Alent only believes in the power of the magically gifted man, and welcomes any race into the city as long as the races follow Alentian laws. However, the common Alentian often sees non-mages as inferior to those with magical abilities and thus worthy of little more than manual labour to build more mage towers. Despite their stance against non-mages, Alentians generally tolerate most races, which is why humans, elves, dwarves and their halfbreeds live together without disputes. Although general consensus is that racism towards any of the aforementioned races isn't allowed, individual mages may be racist but have to obey the law if they want to live in the city. There's general distrust of demons, particularly after the Threshold riots of 1017 AE, although some Alentians have been more accepting of demons in their midst than others because of demon involvement in the founding of Alent, although this group seems to be a minority. There's rivalry between various mage schools (particularly between practitioners of white and black magic due to their different philosophies), but these rivalries are allowed to exist as they're seen as beneficial for each of the magic department to better themselves by competing with their rivals. However, this atmosphere has also led to general mistrust of some of the darker professions such as necromancers over the years, eventually leading to the incarceration of Alent's necromancers after an Anti Mage Police officer was found murdered, and evidence pointed to a necromancer having been the culprit. An uneasy truce has formed between Alent in general and the influential thieves guild known as the Union Workers in 1017 AE. After the Union's involvement in Alent's black market became apparent, it led to negotiations where both parties found enough common ground to work with one another for the common good. This alliance suffered a few hits when the Union was framed by a third party to have been responsible for a string of assassination attempts on several Alentian leaders, which led to investigations of if the Union can be considered trustworthy or not. The common Alentian is generally unaware of the thieves' existence, however, and many mages do frown at thieves trying to steal their artifacts but don't act harshly against them unless the Council dictates that one can do so. Magic Studies Licenses A mage who is only stopping by at the city needs to have no license to study and use magic unless they're going to stay in the city for an extended period of time. A mage who wishes to have full citizenship of Alent, however, has to get a license for either the title of a master or a teacher to practice magic independently; otherwise they can only practice magic under the supervision of a more experienced master mage who holds either of the aforementioned titles. Getting a teacher's license is harder, as it requires social sides and the logistical problems of preventing an entire class of magic students from killing themselves. A master merely needs to show to a supervising instructor that they are capable in a specific type of magic, then they get a license for that specialty. It's easy for a black mage to get a license for offensive magic, for a white mage to get a healer's license, and so forth, if the mage already knows the magic itself. Once a mage has a license, they can practice the corresponding magic independently as much as they want, as long as they don't endanger other mages. Apart from this set of rules, Alent generally gives incredible freedom to practicing and studying magic, even the darker schools of magic, which is why many mages flock to the city. Rules In Alent everyone with magical ability is allowed to study magic. Some mage schools might take in wealthier students, but everyone has a place in one of the many mage schools within the magicracy. However, all students must follow the three rules listed below: # Never harm another mage while studying magic. # No experiment shall be done without supervision. # All students must be under the guidance of a master or a teacher while practicing magic. All other students will conduct studies. Breaking any one of these rules will lead to expulsion from school, banishment from the magicracy or, in severe cases such as high treason, even a death sentence. Departments Black Magic Head: Malek Illuvius The Department of Black Magic is where future black mages study the offensive uses of the four elements (air, earth, fire, water). Illusion Head: Lovien The Department of Illusion is where future illusionists are trained. Master Lovien acts as the supervising instructor who tests potential mages and, eventually, awards them with either the title of master or teacher if they pass the examination. The known tests in an illusionist master's examination are: # Distort light or the perception of it, i.e. disappear to the best of one's abilities. Performance will be graded on subtlety. Made harder when light orbs are cast in the examination room, which reduce the chances of staying unseen. # A question which must be answered: "Your apprentice comes up frustrated every time he tries to cast a shadow illusion. Any different source of light collapses his shadow immediately. What would you recommend he study or focus on to move past this?" # Cast an illusion. It can be anything as long as it isn't real. Examiner must be made to believe it, however. Necromancy Head: Sarvin Keln (formerly) The Department of Necromancy used to exist until the sudden murder spree of Master Sarvin Keln put teaching on hold although Councillor Crowe Lley did occasionally test promising necromancer students. Crowe's method of making people take the master's examination was to seemingly betray them and make them fall into a customized dungeon below the examination room, thus forcing the person to use their wits and skills of necromancy to navigate the maze and use its hazards to their advantage in order to prove themselves to be worthy of taking the title of a necromancer. After the necromancer graduate Razravkar Dominus was accused of having murdered an Anti Mage Police officer, the Department of Necromancy was no longer tolerated even in its lesser form within Alent. Necromancy was forbidden by a decree for the unforeseeable future until the dispute could be settled and Razravkar would be brought to justice, and necromancers have been hunted down and locked up until further notice. Shapeshifting Head: Crowe Lley The Department of Shapeshifting is one of the minor departments, but in it certain mages focus on studying the art of shapeshifting to varying success as failure rates tend to be high due to the inherent risks that are involed in such transformations. Summoning Head: Harrad U'niviel The Department of Summoning is where future summoners study their field of magic, summoning. It is one of the minor schools of magic but nevertheless a respectable one. White Magic Head: Gweneth The Department of White Magic is where future white mages study the defensive uses of the four elements (air, earth, fire, water), which include various healing spells. Entertainment Alent has had several noteworthy events over the years since its founding, some of which happen once, others which are annual. The most notable of these is the annual Feast of Paedün during which Alentians celebrate the gathering of Knowledge in a grand festival which involves fireworks, booze, masquerade, and plays among other things. Another notable event took place in 1017 AE when the Council of Mages organized the King and Queen's Ball to keep the frustrated Sarquil ethnic minority distracted and pacified. It involved a grand ball where several people had the chance to socialize and dance with people they fancied. Politics Mage Hierarchy Council of Mages :See: Council of Mages Teachers Teachers are mages who have taken the teacher's examination and have been given the license to take apprentices under their wing. They can even teach larger groups of mage students in their preferred schools of magic. Getting a teacher's license is harder than getting a master's license; after all, teachers are expected to be responsible enough to keep their apprentices and students in line and protect them from spells gone wrong. Only teachers may hold examinations in which they will grant people either a teacher's or master's license, but they must have the permission of senior Alentian mages to grant such licenses. It may confuse some outsiders a bit, but both teachers and masters are often simply referred to as masters, although it tends to happen more often with the former than the latter. Notable teachers *Lovien - Illusion specialist *Sarvin Keln - Necromancy specialist (suspended after having massacred students) Masters Masters are mages who have taken the master's examination and have been given the license to practice their preferred branch of magic independently, i.e. without supervision from senior mages. Most of the learned mages in the city are masters, having graduated either from their respective school or who are outsiders who have taken the master's examination to be allowed to practice magic within Alent. Masters are not allowed to teach other mages and thus can't take apprentices unless they get a teacher's license first. Any mage found to circumvent or disobey these rules will be dealt with by the Anti Mage Police. It may confuse some outsiders a bit, but both teachers and masters are often simply referred to as masters, although it tends to happen more often with the former than the latter. Apprentices Apprentices are mages-in-learning who work under a specific master. Their masters teach them what they need to know about their preferred branch of magic and ready them for their eventual master's examination. Apprentices must not practice magic without the supervision from a senior mage (i.e. a master) unless their master grants them permission to do so (while they're on missions, for example). Once apprentices have learned enough, they will take the master's examination. If they pass the test, they will become masters and will be apprentices no longer. Notable apprentices *Edward Cullen - apprentice of Crowe Lley (dead) *Lynnea Stargazer - apprentice of Omaroch d'Zarnagon and Harrad U'niviel *Takeru Tanaka - apprentice of Omaroch d'Zarnagon (dead) *William Charles Hil'neer - apprentice of Harrad U'niviel (dead) Others This category includes everyone else, whether a worker or a traveller who passes by the city; in other words, people who don't have full citizenship of Alent. The mages use people who possess no or little magic as their construction workers, most recently the Sarquil refugees. These workers don't have the same privileges as those gifted with magic have, but they are granted the safety which Alent provides. Organizations Anti Mage Police :See: Anti Mage Police Head: Schtolteheim Reinbach III The Anti Mage Police, or AMP for short, is a police force which operate within Alent. They patrol the streets of the city to keep things in relative order among the mages and also investigate crimes and try to weed out corruption. AMP also has a special internal affairs/crime unit called Shadowstrike. Military Also known as the Alentian Defense Force or ADF for short, the Alentian military consists of skilled mages who specialize in various things which they put to good use on the battlefield. It is divided between air force, army, navy, intelligence agency and palace guard. There's friendly rivalry between AMP and ADF despite their different jurisdictions as both are independent from one another. Air Force Currently Alent's air force consists of just one airship, the flagship Imperator, but the engineers are building more airships slowly but surely now that they've successfully tested the flagship in action. The councillor in charge of the development of the airships is Councillor Sydelius. Army Alent has two armies: the Western Army fighting in Western Libaterra near the Great River against the Crimson Coalition, and the Eastern Army securing Eastern Libaterra so that Alent may seize control there and prepare the population for potential demon invasions. After the Battle of the Rivers, the Western Army is all but decimated with only scattered divisions remaining. Navy Alent has a few dozen ships under its command but is constantly building more at the docks. The mages intend to have a navy rivalling the navies of Maar Sul and Yamato although so far the war efforts against the Crimson Coalition have hindered their progress. Intelligence Agency Head: Garus Kax (formerly) Alent's intelligence agency deals with various clandestine operations in order to spy on various rival factions as well as mages outside the magicracy's borders. It is separate from AMP's covert ops as it deals more with threats outside the city than with the city's internal matters (which are usually handled by AMP and its covert ops teams such as Shadowstrike). Palace Guard Head: Berandas Separate from the army and the AMP, the Palace Guard are led by Lieutenant Berandas. Their sole purpose is to protect the central ziggurat, the Council of Mages and libraries of Alentian knowledge. Commanders *Ariadne - commander of the Eastern Army *Berandas - lieutenant and commander of the palace guard *Garus Kax - former lieutenant and a high-ranking officer in the intelligence agency (dead) *Omaroch d'Zarnagon - former commander of the Western Army *Takeru Tanaka - former second-in-command of the Western Army (dead) Foreign Relations The Magicracy of Alent had an uneasy truce with the Sultanate of Karaganda; Alent sent supplies to the sultanate which in turn defended Southern Libaterra from demon invaders. When the demons took over the desert after the Battle of Vanna, the sultanate's tribes moved into Alent's slum district and became the mages' workforce in exchange for safety within Alent's walls. Alent traded freely with the city of Etheril to the north, especially buying necessary food supplies and clothes. The trade ceased after Etheril fell to the Crimson Coalition. The Rebels and Alent are not on good terms, especially after the Rebels formed the expansionistic Crimson Coalition with other powerful factions in Western Libaterra. The animosity between Alent and the Coalition escalated into a full-scale war which is being fought on Alentian-controlled Central Libaterra. Alent and the Grand Alliance made an agreement after the Battle of Vanna to work for one another although some distrust still exists between them. Alent wishes to use the Alliance to secure its power base and protect Libaterra, while the Alliance wants assistance in dealing with the Coalition and the demons. Notable Alentians *Ariadne - leader of Purple Paladins *Berandas - commander of the Palace Guard *Brigitte Bardot - commander of the Order's Alentian branch *Calista Cypher - witch and matron of the Garden of Earthly Delights *Drishnek - Jemuel's former advisor *Irinthiel Maurath - leader of Shadowstrike *Jahi Gallu - demon matron of Threshold *Jemuel - archmage of Alent *Richelieu - Jemuel's advisor *Schtolteheim Reinbach III - captain of Anti Mage Police See also *Alent (city) *Alent (nation) *Anti Mage Police *Council of Mages *Jemuel *Shadowstrike Category:Factions Category:Libaterra * Category:Third Age